After all that scholastic reasoning, all that discussion of medieval astronomy and geography, all that cogitation on the soul's unity and the sun's position, Dante the pilgrim and Virgil come across a guy who's just hanging out in the shade, trying to escape the noontime heat.

He may be the most famous character of PURGATORIO. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we begin our exploration of this negligent soul, a character who has captured the imagination of thousands of the COMEDY's readers.

Here are the segments of this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:

[01:38] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto IV, lines 97 - 114. If you'd like to read along, print it off, or continue the discussion with me about this passage, please go to my website: markscarbrough.com.

[03:47] The guy's first response has two curious bits: an emphasis on the "perhaps" and an address only to Dante the pilgrim, not to Virgil.

[06:26] How does this passage relate to Virgil's last words: "I can't say anything else but I do know this much is true"?

[09:37] The figure embodies negligence, perhaps what some medieval scholars called "inactive melancholy" or the "noontime demon."

[11:20] Dante the poet is playing a tricky game since the sin of sloth was not punished in INFERNO (perhaps).

[15:32] The negligent soul seems to offer both the pilgrim Dante AND the reader a way out: what's ahead is tough, so be forewarned before you go on.